What's love got to do with it? Plenty—"The Blessed Damozel" is all about love, really. More specifically, though, it's all about a particular kind of love, one that a) can never die, but that b) may never be fulfilled. If the damozel and her lover were on Facebook, both of their relationship statuses would be "It's Complicated." That's understandable, though. After all, one of them is in heaven and the other one may—or may not—get there at an unspecified date.
So what happens to love in the wake of such a separation? It's kind of a good news/bad news scenario, according to this poem. Love never dies—that's the good news. Then again, it may never be fulfilled—bad news. Then again, it may be fulfilled some day. So that's…more good news? You see—we told you it's complicated.
Questions About Love
- How would you characterize the damozel's relationship with her lover?
- What differences do you notice about the damozel's fantasies of reuniting with her lover compared to his fantasies of being with her?
- If you had to guess, what does the future hold for this crazy couple? What parts of the poem support your ideas?
- What does this poem tell us about the nature of love?
Chew on This
The poem shows us that the truest test of love is separation. If you can make it through that, then your love is in the clear.
The sheer amount of fantasizing going on in this poem indicates that neither the damozel nor her lover has a realistic understanding of how love works.